BATTER UP FOR THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!

It’s the season opener for twins Hank and Erin, avid baseball fans ready for the first day of school.

The youngsters’ bedroom contains a bat propped up by the foot of the bed, pennants on the wall, and a planner marked “Game Day” alongside a “Back to School” reminder. Although Hank and Erin aren’t exactly raring to go, once they have breakfast and set off for school, they get into the groove. It helps that everything seems to be baseball-themed, starting at home with their parents’ call for the “sluggers” to awaken and continuing through a series of “morning drills” (brushing their teeth and combing their hair). And it doesn’t stop when they arrive at Grand Slam Elementary—the day is broken up into innings, a spilled container of milk at lunch is a “foul ball,” and their savvy teacher refers to the classroom as a dugout, with sporty rules and expectations clearly laid out (“Be kind to every player”; “when you hit the field, safety first”). When the kids are called up to the blackboard for a spelling exercise, they initially get it wrong (“It’s a swing and a miss!”) before triumphing: “And the crowd goes wild!” The fast-paced text and lively digital paintings give the book energy to spare. For these youngsters, it’s a promising start to the school year, er, season—hot diggity dog! The curly-haired tots and their parents are tan-skinned; their classmates are diverse.

All the bases are loaded for a great back-to-school read.